Four Dogs
Legend
Silver Level
I was involved a pot last weekend where the flor manager was called over and made a ruling which I strongly disagreed with. Here are the specifics as best as I can recall.
The game is $1/$2 nlh at Foxwoods Casino. I am sitting on the CO with about $180. A player in early position bets $10. MP calls and I over call with [7h][8h]. The Button calls as does the BB. The pot is $50.
The flop comes [3h][4c][Td] and it is checked around to the button who makes it $75. I am prepared to fold if it comes around to me but the BB flats and the OR folds. The pot is about $200. I'm getting about 3:1 direct odds to call and I do. the pot is $275.
The Turn is [6h] making my flush. The pot is $275 and I'm not going away no matter what happens. The BB checks and after thinking for a moment on the best way to get value from a set or a naked flush draw I decide to shove all in for my remaining $95. The Button tanks for a good while but eventually calls for his entire stack.
Here's where it gets interesting. The BB is fumbling with his cards but is clearly IMO ready to fold but before he actually does, the dealer deals the river card, it's a harmless brick. The BB immediately says "Hold on, I haven't acted yet." The dealer apologizes and the BB says, "No harm, I was going to fold anyway." I show my flush but the Button protests that "As the BB had not yet acted, the river card is a misdeal and must be redealt." He does not reveal his cards but he obviously has outs.The floor is called over and rules in his favor. I was livid. As I only have a weak flush, I'm fading any heart, or any paired card, I'm not sure which.
My problem with the ruling is that the misdeal changed nothing other than possibly giving the BB a free card. If the River had worked in his favor, a case could be made that he could simply pay up the turn bet and collect the entire pot despite whether or not he intended to call the turn. I would be understandably upset but I could live with that. But the river was a blank, and the BB folded. The hand played out exactly as it would have without the misdeal. All is as it should be.
What purpose does re-dealing the river card serve other than to give a player a free card which he has done nothing to warrant? As it turned out the river was another blank and with much relief and unneeded drama I took down the pot. I even tipped the dealer. Had I lost the hand I'm not sure I would have taken it in such stride. I probably would have called for another floor manager. In retrospect I should have insisted that another floor manager be brought over immediately but I was assured by everyone at the table that as unfair as it seemed, that was the correct ruling.
Correct or not, floor rules are made in an attempt to restore a hand to it's intended outcome in as much as is possible. I'm just not sure how this ruling served that purpose. Wouldn't a greater injustice have been done to me had the board paired and I lost to a Full House?
The game is $1/$2 nlh at Foxwoods Casino. I am sitting on the CO with about $180. A player in early position bets $10. MP calls and I over call with [7h][8h]. The Button calls as does the BB. The pot is $50.
The flop comes [3h][4c][Td] and it is checked around to the button who makes it $75. I am prepared to fold if it comes around to me but the BB flats and the OR folds. The pot is about $200. I'm getting about 3:1 direct odds to call and I do. the pot is $275.
The Turn is [6h] making my flush. The pot is $275 and I'm not going away no matter what happens. The BB checks and after thinking for a moment on the best way to get value from a set or a naked flush draw I decide to shove all in for my remaining $95. The Button tanks for a good while but eventually calls for his entire stack.
Here's where it gets interesting. The BB is fumbling with his cards but is clearly IMO ready to fold but before he actually does, the dealer deals the river card, it's a harmless brick. The BB immediately says "Hold on, I haven't acted yet." The dealer apologizes and the BB says, "No harm, I was going to fold anyway." I show my flush but the Button protests that "As the BB had not yet acted, the river card is a misdeal and must be redealt." He does not reveal his cards but he obviously has outs.The floor is called over and rules in his favor. I was livid. As I only have a weak flush, I'm fading any heart, or any paired card, I'm not sure which.
My problem with the ruling is that the misdeal changed nothing other than possibly giving the BB a free card. If the River had worked in his favor, a case could be made that he could simply pay up the turn bet and collect the entire pot despite whether or not he intended to call the turn. I would be understandably upset but I could live with that. But the river was a blank, and the BB folded. The hand played out exactly as it would have without the misdeal. All is as it should be.
What purpose does re-dealing the river card serve other than to give a player a free card which he has done nothing to warrant? As it turned out the river was another blank and with much relief and unneeded drama I took down the pot. I even tipped the dealer. Had I lost the hand I'm not sure I would have taken it in such stride. I probably would have called for another floor manager. In retrospect I should have insisted that another floor manager be brought over immediately but I was assured by everyone at the table that as unfair as it seemed, that was the correct ruling.
Correct or not, floor rules are made in an attempt to restore a hand to it's intended outcome in as much as is possible. I'm just not sure how this ruling served that purpose. Wouldn't a greater injustice have been done to me had the board paired and I lost to a Full House?
Last edited: